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Texas woman sues hotel for thousands after alleged bedbug attack

A Texas woman said she suffered from bedbug bites after staying at a Days Inn. [VIRGINIA TECH DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY]

By Claire Osborn cosborn@statesman.com

Posted: Apr. 12, 2019 9:18 am

A woman has sued a Days Inn hotel in Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin, for more than $200,000, claiming she was bitten by bedbugs when she stayed there in April 2017, according to a lawsuit filed this month.

She’Laundra Waters of Tyler, Texas, was staying at the Days Inn at 333 Interstate 35 when she began itching and developed red marks on her body, the suit said.

It said she wasn’t aware what caused the marks when she checked out of the hotel, but her condition became worse after that. When she realized the bites were caused by bedbugs, she notified the hotel’s management, the lawsuit said.

Her lawyer, Tad Rice from the Houston area, did not respond to a request for comment. A manager at the hotel declined to comment. The lawsuit does not say how long Waters stayed at the hotel or what medical treatment she received.

It said the hotel had prior bedbug problems but failed to take steps to prevent future infestations. The lawsuit says Waters is entitled to triple the amount of economic and mental anguish damage because the hotel violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by engaging in false, misleading or deceptive acts or practices, the suit said.

Bedbugs, which feed on blood, have proteins in their saliva that someone can develop an allergic reaction to if exposed to a lot of bites, said Harold Harlan, a former staff entomologist with the National Pest Management Association. Most people don’t develop an itch until 10 to 14 days after exposure, he said.

Bedbugs can be found everywhere but are hard to get rid of in hotels because they can hide in walls or underneath edges of molding, Harlan said. The bugs leave a brownish or blackish stain on sheets, he said.

Austin attorney Joel Levine, who is not involved in the Georgetown lawsuit, said that he has handled a few claims against hotels for bedbug bites but that they all were settled without filing a lawsuit.

“There are not a lot of bedbug claims out there,” he said, “because people may not know how they got the bites on their arm.”